Saturday, November 23, 2013

Got the golden A Link Between Worlds Nintendo 3DS XL

The most expansive Zelda year continues. I got this yesterday, but I waited for some daylight to make the photos.

And it was a somewhat stressful day, because Amazon failed me. Amazon is always hit and miss. Others get the game and the 3DS XL two days before launch in top shape padded in paper or maybe even bubble wrap in a solid package, where nothing can happen. This is the ideal case and what you would expect, if you're a prime member and preordered on day 1. Well, I'm a prime member and I preordered on day one, but they didn't bother sending it to me before launch and they didn't bother with protecting a collectible item like this, they send it to me in a cardboard bag without any padding. The 3DS XL box was completely wrecked, which is unacceptable for a collectible like this. I want the box in good shape.

So, I went to the shops to find one. The big eletronic retailers also treat their products like crap, they put these straps around it damaging the box as well. However, I finally got lucky in a drug store(!) near my home, they had only one, but it was in perfect shape. And they even gave me a 7€ discount.

The day before launch I also had to track down a copy of the game in the shops, because Nintendo had a Club Nintendo registration thingy going on. The first 1000 to register the game from 12AM on will receive one of those treasure chests with sound effects for storing 3DS cartridges. I wanted one badly, but that was the only way to get one in Germany.

So, because of Amazon I had to go to the stores twice... and the main reason, why I use Amazon, is because I don't want this stress. Usually they send the stuff in perfect shape and in time. Luckily Nintendo was nice enough to provide me with a review copy for ZeldaEurope, so I was already finished with the game before release this time, because otherwise I would have probably raged about the situation even more. You want to play the game, not search through shops all day long.

But enough whining, here are the goods:

Just to clarify, the retail game was not part of the bundle, but here you can see how the game looks with the inverted cover. This is the golden system:

You can compare this to the golden GameBoy Advance SP that came with The Minish Cap. However, it doesn't have any decals on the inside. The GBA SP also had a Triforce Crest next to the start button and on the inside the golden 3DS XL looks somewhat boring.

But it's a lot sturdier than the normal 3DS, which I like. The normal 3DS always feels like it breaks into pieces if you're not really careful. Also, the upper screen is actually protected well enough from the lower screen. With the normal 3DS it can happen that the touchscreen borders eat into the upper screen, which is bad. I always keep a soft cloth between the screens to prevent this. And the three buttons for Start, Select and Home are actual buttons, not those weird inlays like on the 3DS.

On the other hand I like the shiny 3DS more. While you don't see any finger prints, on the matt XL the slide pad feels rougher to use, it doesn't slide as softly as on the 3DS.

Well, this is how the golden XL looks compared to the black Zelda 3DS from two years ago:

I think I will keep using my normal 3DS. I don't really need the large screens and the games look pixelated, because they are only upscaled. I think A Link Between Worlds looks best on a normal 3DS. And of course the system is more portable and I have all my savegames and downloaded games already on there. I guess, I will use the XL to replay some selected games on the large screen.

Overall the "bundle" is a joke compared to the 25th Anniversary Ocarina of Time 3D bundle from two years ago. Just look at it:

It's not even half the size...

The black 3DS Zelda bundle cost me 200€, it came with the game in an actual box with a special dual sided cover and the cartridge. It also had the cradle for the 3DS and an AC adapter. The golden XL bundle costs 20€ more, but it doesn't have any of the extras. There's only a download code for the game, there's no AC adapter and no cradle. Also, the black 3DS looks a lot more exquisite than the golden XL. I don't know, how expansive the Nintendo 3DS XL is to make, but it all feels like a rip-off compared to the first bundle.

Well, if you don't have a 3DS yet and you're a big Zelda fan, it's maybe worth a shot. But I can only advise you to compare it to a normal 3DS first. And seeing how the "limited" Wii U bundle for The Wind Waker HD doesn't sell AT ALL (the shops are filled with it), I hope that Nintendo will stop producing such ridiculous bundles.

However, right now the second 3DS system has a good purpose for me except for being a collectible. A Link Between Worlds doesn't have SpotPass (bboooooo, Nintendo, booooo!!!) and to get all 50 StreetPass medals I set it up with three dummy savegames. Now I can farm medals every 12 hours in my existing savegames for the true 100%. Already got 26. It's a fun activity, but I wish it also supported SpotPass to receive Shadow Links from the internet. Even better would be a multiplayer battle mode in the same style... but I'll talk about that later.